How uncertain is uncertainty?

[petrushka.googol]

Consider the classic example of Schrodinger's cat. Till the collapse of the wave equation we have no way of knowing whether the cat is alive or dead.

 

Assume that there is a mirror in the enclosure and the cat looks in the mirror at the same instant that an external observer looks at the cat.

 

Then is the cat truly "alive or dead"?

 

The cat expects himself (or herself) to be alive but the external observer (assume that the external observer has certain privy information about the cat and the cat is chronically ill) expects to find the cat dead.

 

Now do we need a third observer to collapse the resultant wave function to arrive at some realistic conclusion?

 

How do we handle this in Schrodinger's wave equation?

 

Please advise, since I am not aware of the mathematics behind this.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

[swansont]

The thought experiment was not meant to actually be carried out; asking for such detail is nonsensical. At the very least the questions of if the cat is an observer and decoherence are not well answered. However, theexpectation of an observer of what the state will be does not matter. The state will collapse to an eigenstate when measured.

[jduff]

I never thought I would agree with Swanson, on his observation I agree. That is of course if there is only one observer. Do not know why so many in science use observer as a single source. Things could be enhanced profoundly with a bit more broad correlation.